Two INL Employees File Complaint Against Batelle Energy Alliance

A Seattle attorney, representing two employees of Batelle Energy Alliance at the Idaho National Laboratory, has filed a complaint with the Department of Labor alleging that BEA "systematically retaliated against them for raising health and safety concerns after they were exposed to plutonium contamination at INL on November 8, 2011."

Attorney Jack Sheridan is expected to officially announce the complaint filed by Brian Simmons and Ralph Stanton Thursday afternoon at the Bonneville County Courthouse.

According to a news release issued by Sheridan, "The complaint alleges that since Simmons and Stanton were exposed, they had symptoms of radiation poisoning including: nausea, vomiting, confusion, diarrhea, and high blood pressure, which lasted for months. BEA continued to deny the significance of the exposure, removed them from their job duties for eight months, and assigned them to sit in a basement office without meaningful work. The company sent them to see a psychologist in response to their continued expression of concerns about health and safety at INL, and has imposed unjustified discipline on them. The company even went so far as to prohibit Simmons and Stanton from speaking with each other at work."

"On October 4, 2012, BEA revoked complainants’ Radiation Worker I and II qualifications because complainants would not sign documentation provided by BEA that would have caused them to falsely represent that they had reviewed information about the radiation dosages they received in the prior months. The complainants would not complete the certifications because BEA had denied the complainants access to the data. Jack Sheridan said, “bringing this case forward and exposing unsafe practices will improve safety at INL in a long run, and hold the wrongdoers accountable for their actions.”"

They complaint seeks unspecified damages.

Misty Benjamin, spokesperson for the Idaho National Laboratory, issued this brief statement regarding the Department of Labor complaint, "We disagree with the filed complaint and we will be strongly defending."